Dominic Elias
A former Templar and trusted advisor to the Divine herself, Dominic is a Seeker trying to escape the pain of his past. The centre of a large spy network covering most of Thedas, Dominic's reach is long, his righteous fury terrible to behold. Background To his immense shame, Dominic was born the eldest son of powerful Tevinter magister Lawrence Iago, a powerful mage and influential member of the Senate. Growing up surrounded by his father's wealth and slaves, Dominic wanted for nothing. Naturally gifted with roguish abilities, and sheltered from the worst of Tevinter by his doting mother, Dominic was taught swordplay by the best tutors in Tevinter, taught numbers and words by some of the highest ranking scholars in the Imperial Chantry, presented at every function and ball ... and never once was named as his father's heir. Searching for a mage to inherit his mantle as Magister, Dominic's father grew ever more enraged with first his wife, and then his entire family, as his wife gave him two twin daughters and another son - none of them mages. Dominic doted on his younger siblings, and would have done anything for them. As they all grew older, Dominic became a father figure to them as their actual father spurned them in his quest for a magical hair - a quest with disastrous consequences for the family. A mage boy was eventually born to the family, much to the elation of the Magister. His father,however, became obsessed with making his heir as strong as possible. Turning to his magic and finding tell of an ancient ritual, the Magister acted, and in an orgy of blood magic and lyrium, slaughtered his wife and non-mage children, poring their lifeforce into the still infant mage child. Dominic only escaped by virtue of his mother's handmaid, an elderly elven handmaid who released him at his mother's dying command. Fleeing from the capital's streets, the seventeen year old Dominic was forced to live as a thief in order to survive. Finally exposed to the true Tevinter, he found himself being captured by slavers and was nearly sold into servitude before he was able to escape and flee once more for the coast. Begging passage on the first ship he found, Dominic fled Tevinter, leaving his father and one remaining brother behind. Arriving in Orlais via Antiva , Dominic spent the next four years on the streets as a thief and beggar once more before finally throwing himself at the mercy of the Chantry . Reluctantly taken in as a result of his Tevinter upbringing, Dominic soon regained his strength. Humbled by the charity he had been shown, and determined to leave his old life behind him, Dominic offered himself for service in the Chantry, eventually being accepted into the Templar Order . His previous training and natural roguish abilities allowed Dominic to quickly climb the ranks of the Templars, rising to a position of authority in the Order's division of scouts and rogues. In particular, he distinguished himself on a mission to Rivain , where a handful of rogues under his command were able to infiltrate and bring down an organization of maleficar and demon worshipers. He was truly noticed, however, when he foiled a conspiracy to assassinate the Divine. Overhearing a number of Orlesian Templar Warriors planning to kill the Divine in a politically backed move to weaken Empress Celene, Dominic decided to act. Orgnaising his own band, he orchestrated the arrest of the Templar conspirators, and personally delivered them to the Grand Cathedral of Val Royeaux. The Divine, both thankful and impressed, invited Dominic to Val Royeaux on a more permanent basis, raising him up to one of the Seekers of Truth. Now a Seeker, Dominic quickly came to be a close confidant of the Divine. He became a regular sight in the Divine's audience chamber, and was often asked for his opinion. Coming to like and respect the Divine, Dominic found himself acting as one of her personal agents, being entrusted with tasks directly from the head of the Chantry, and only accountable to the Divine herself. Travelling all over Thedas at her behalf, Dominic established himself a network of spies and informers that report to him on various comings and goings, transforming him into the Divine's premier information gatherer/spymaster. The only place he ever refused to travel to is his homeland, and this is the only area of Thedas his spy network does not cover. He has manged to keep his Tevinter heritage a closely guarded secret, with only the Divine and other Seekers knowing that his father is still a Magister of Tevinter, and he has refused to speak to anyone of the events surrounding his flight from the country. Appearance Slim of build, Dominic has the normal slightly tanned skin hue of most Tevinters. He has a youthful looking face, with a slightly small than average nose and very expressive eyes of a clear, bright skyblue color. He has a defined jawline and cheekbones, and he prefers to be clean shaven, allowing at most a light covering of designer stubble. His hair is jet black, and he keeps it short and youthful looking, taking care to make it look slightly ruffled and fashionably disordered. While he does own a set of high-quality leathers from his days in the Templars, since his elevation to the Seekers, Dominic has favored a far more dramatic ensemble. His long black cloak and hood have a number of powerful runes sewn into them in a subtle purple thread, both increasing his defense and magic resistance. A lesser number of these same runes are also found on his actual tunic, just in case he is forced to discard his cloak. His boots, meanwhile, are not only the height of elegance, but are also enchanted to muffle his steps, allowing him to approach his prey - or anyone else for that matter- in a silent, stealthy manner. Dominic is also lucky enough to have granted a powerful set of enchanted rings by the Divine - the Ring of Ages and Ring of Resilience. Honored by the gift, he wears them all the time. In addition, he also wears the Cinch of Skillful Maneuvering, a belt he stole from a rich nobleman during his years on the streets of Val Royeaux, and has kept as a trophy ever since. Personality Dominic is in general a people person. Charming and suave, he has a gift for making people at ease with him and is always ready with a compliment or a witty remark. Confident and ever courteous, his quick mind allows him to make connections between seemingly innocent statements and sniff out plots and lies in a heartbeat. A devout Andrastrian, Dominic's loyalties lie with the Divine over the Chantry as a whole. He despises those within the Chantry who would undermine the Divine's authority, and takes whatever action is necessary to root out and stop corruption in the Chantry, Circles and Templar Order. Aware that this had made him more than a few enemies, Dominic keeps a close circle of trusted friends rather than a network of associates, and watches his enemies and those he mistrusts through the eyes of the informers and spies he has managed to place all over Thedas. With the entire Chantry again looking at the issue of mages, Dominic finds himself one of the few trying to argue for a compromise. He supports the basic notion of the Circles in their attempts to protect the ordinary people from the possibility of demons and possessions; but finds the current overbearing and oppressive stance of the Templars as a whole completely unacceptable. He sees mages as gifted individuals, still people to be afforded as many freedoms and given as much trust as sense allows, and finds himself at odds with those in the Chantry who would paint all the mages as maleficar. Dominic feels immense sadness at the state of the elves, and tries to show any elf he meets both courtesy and respect. He finds elven history and culture fascinating, and thinks it a travesty that so much of it was lost at the hands of his homeland. Dominic does not have any particular feelings about the countries of Thedas as a whole - with one notable exception. He views his homeland of Tevinter as an evil place, where only the cruel and insane thrive, and has a measure of self-loathing for ever having been part of it. Trying to block out that part of his life, Dominic instead throws himself into his duty to the Divine so as not to leave any part of his mind for looking backwards. Abilities In combat, Dominic uses both the daggers The Rose's Thorn and The Maker's Kiss, gifted to him by the Divine herself when he was raised up to the rank of Seeker. Dominic cares almost reverentially for these daggers, and finds a sense of relaxation in keeping them clean and sharp. Dominic has mastered the Dual-Weapon tree, is adept in both the Subterfuge and Sabotage skill line, and is a novice in the arts of the Scoundrel. For his skills, he is an apprentice in the areas of Posions-Making and Survival. Details of all of his combat talents can be found on the rogue page, while the skills are taken from Dragon Age: Origins. Recent Events With the issue of the mages again coming to the fore, King Bhelen of Orzammar's decision to open a Circle in the dwarven city without allowing Chantry presence is a dangerous move. After much pressure from the Chantry, the dwarves have finally allowed a small number of Chantry delegates into the city to inspect the situation - and it is Dominic that the Divine had placed in charge of this expedition. Relationships Divine Justina V Grateful to the her Holiness for all she has done for him and raising him so high, Dominic respects the Divine, and ahs dedicated himself to supporting her interests and goals. Viewing her as a surrogate mother figure, Dominic is fiercly loyal to her, and will brook no slight on her character from any quarter. In turn, the Divine trusts Dominic as one of her closest advisors and agents, and is more than happy to continue to give him her patronage and support. Redirect Main Page Site Backstory Category:Original Category:Rogue Category:Humans Category:Templar Category:Tevinter Category:Orzammar Category:The Seekers